Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Mahé

For one person, living is cheaper in Mahé: $1,773 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
91

Cost of Living Index in Mahé
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Mahé Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Mahé

🇸🇨 Seychelles

$1,773

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Mahé

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Barcelona and in Mahé actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,773 in Mahé.

Barcelona $2,381
Mahé $1,773

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,601 in Mahé.

Barcelona $3,406
Mahé $2,601

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $3,429 in Mahé.

Barcelona $4,431
Mahé $3,429

Living in Barcelona is roughly 34% more expensive than in Mahé, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Mahé 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$17.59 SCR 255

1.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$106 SCR 1,546

-37.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$5.73 SCR 83.2

138.92%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$6.59 SCR 95.7

-53.57%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 €2.73

$1.65 SCR 24.00

86.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$13.03 SCR 189

-70.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$9.09 SCR 132

-49.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.56 SCR 22.72

-16.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.13 SCR 16.46

85.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.86 SCR 27.04

-1.61%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$4.11 SCR 59.7

12.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$15.85 SCR 230

9.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$8.18 SCR 119

13.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$12.63 SCR 183

57.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.11 SCR 30.59

42.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.29 SCR 33.30

15.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$6.54 SCR 95.0

-56.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.09 SCR 15.82

98.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.09 SCR 15.84

97.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.04 SCR 15.14

41.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$14.54 SCR 211

-52.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.20 SCR 31.96

19.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.75 SCR 10.83

288.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$35.49 SCR 515

-28.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$14.42 SCR 210

130.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.53 SCR 22.17

21.57%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$32.3K €28.8K

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$31.7K €28.2K

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$183 €163

$50.0 SCR 727

265.37%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$13.61 €12.11

$21.17 SCR 307

-35.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$108 SCR 1,574

-69.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$53.1 SCR 772

2.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$6.50 SCR 94.5

72.77%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$954 €849

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$30.20 SCR 439

184.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$12.25 SCR 178

219.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$48.21 SCR 700

115.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$61.2 SCR 889

93.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$853 SCR 12.4K

98.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$850 SCR 12.3K

50.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,757 SCR 25.5K

46.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,083 SCR 15.7K

77.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$857 SCR 12.4K

159.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Mahé: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Mahé

$850 47.9% 33.4% $426

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Mahé

$244 * 13.7% 25.1% $81

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Mahé

$327 * 18.4% 21.3% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Mahé

$180 10.1% 21.7% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Mahé

$68 3.9% 56.3% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Mahé

$66 3.7% 14.3% $11

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Mahé

$38 * 2.2% 18.7% $8.8

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $853 in Mahé. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 160% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $106 in Mahé. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $244, with Mahé cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇨 Mahé

🕒 Local time

06:13 6:13 AM

08:13 8:13 AM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

78,539

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Seychellois Rupee SCR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 SCR = 6.88 USD

100 SCR = 6.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SCR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Seychellois Rupee exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 14.52 SCR (100 SCR = 6.88 USD). 1 EUR = 16.33 SCR (100 SCR = 6.12 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Mahé 7,440 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Mahé

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Barcelona vs Mahé: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Mahé differ by about 34% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,773 including rent). Mahé is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 160% higher in Barcelona, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $853 in Mahé. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mahé – a meal for two runs $106 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Mahé runs roughly 39% less than in Barcelona. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,773 in Mahé versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mahé but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Mahé the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Mahé are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mahé gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.